The Wedding - excerpt from Chapter Nine

Having reached the zenith of their relationship, Ake and Suet-foong got married in a chapel. It was also at this time that Suet-foong came clean with Ake: when she refused to an arranged marriage because she did not love the man, her old-fashioned parents, furious after being made to lose face, disowned her; such was the severity of her punishment. But she still loved her folks, sending them money through her brother whenever she could afford to. She was indeed a filial daughter.

Following is an excerpt from Chapter Nine:

Father Clark Buckingham, the bespectacled, rotund Caucasian head priest of the church, could not believe his ears when we went to his office to announce our intention to him.

"You like me to do what?" he asked, adjusting his glasses to have a better look at Suet-foong and me. He was clad in a black cassock, his fading black hair flecked with gray, and in his bearded face a pair of blue eyes - they were wide. I think he was stunned.

"We'd like you to marry us," I repeated.

"I can't marry you two just like that," the fifty-something priest replied. "There are procedures to be followed. Besides, are you Christians?"

"No, we're human beings," said Suet-foong matter-of-factly.

Father Buckingham smiled. "Yes, I can see that."

"Love is above religion and race, Father, and we are deeply in love," I declared. "We came here because we want our lifelong commitment to each other to be officiated by someone who has the authority to perform the sacred wedding rites: you. Kindly spare us a few minutes of your precious time, we shall be forever profoundly grateful." With that, I slipped five one-hundred-dollar bills into his hand. "For your trouble, it is our utmost pleasure to make a small donation to you ... err ... I mean, to your church."

"Well ... since you put it that way, okay," the priest acquiesced with dollar signs in his eyes.

They say God is great. But in this case, I had to disagree; money was greater.

When Father Buckingham asked us our names, he grew curious with mine as he had never heard of Akecheta before.

"I'm half Sioux," I enlightened him. "Akecheta means 'fighter' in the Sioux language, and my Chinese character Lung is 'dragon' in English. If you like, you can call me Fighting Dragon - that is also my name."

"I see," replied the priest. Then he looked at my bride. "And if my grasp of the Chinese vocabulary is anything to go by, Suet-foong means 'snow phoenix', right? Please correct me if I am wrong."

Snow Phoenix gave him the thumbs-up.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" said the priest as he led us to the hall. "According to your Chinese mythology, the dragon represents masculine majesty, power, and authority whereas the phoenix attributes the qualities of feminine beauty, inspirations, and grace - the perfect combination for good luck and harmonious marriage. Both of you are truly made for each other."

I was uncertain whether he was telling the truth or just fawning upon us because I paid him handsomely. No matter, as long as his words were easy on the ear, I let him ratter on to his heart's content with me feigning attentiveness and grinning like an enchanted ape.

My sugarplum was in seventh heaven when she finally saw the aisle - it was exactly the way I described it. Frankly, I was quite overwhelmed by the view too; it was breathtakingly beautiful. By the way, so was she.

"Are you both ready?" asked Father Buckingham, standing at the altar and holding the Bible.

I glanced at my bride; she was so excited that she could hardly speak. She just stared at me. "Yes, we are," I replied for the two of us.